The Lemon Orchard by La Guma expresses the clashes of the characters personalities throughout the short story. The main characters that are shown within the story are the African man, the leader, the man who was carrying the lantern, and two other men that followed. The leader of the group is presented to be the most dominant compared to the other men. ‘He was a big man and wore khaki trousers and laced-up riding boots, and an old shooting jacket with leather patches on the right breast and the elbows. The simple use of adjectives that are used such as ‘big’ reinforces his size to the reader. The old shooting jacket and leather patches gives the reader an idea of his age and what type of class he belongs to. The quote, ‘He is not dumb. He is a slim hotnot; one of those educated bushmen. ‘ Gives the reader the impression that the leader of the group has grown up learning that colored people are the foes and he is superior to them. The colored man is silent throughout the short story. For example, ‘Are you cold, hotnot? the man with the light jeered. The colored man said nothing, but stared ahead of himself into the half-light made by the small lantern. ‘ This is to show the readers that he is ashamed of being within this situation. He refuses to talk to the men who are going to give him a beating. The quote, ‘.. but stared ahead of himself into the half-light. ‘ This can symbolize the colored man foreseeing the future of his fate. The light in the in front of him can represent his hope or he could see this as the light at the end of the tunnel.
Posted by Samm at 11:17 PM 0 comments: e Lemon Orchard by La Guma represents many challenges throughout the short story. These challenges are usually expressed by choices that certain characters have to adjudicate upon. These choices are either acknowledged or ignored therefore these actions effects the outcome of that choice. The colored man has the challenge of remaining silent. For example within the text it states, ‘The colored man did not reply. He was afraid, but his fear was mixed with a stubbornness which forbade him to answer them. This communicates to the reader that not only is the colored man contradicting to this idea of punishment but it also shows that he does not wish to speak to the white men because he despises them. The simple use of adjectives such as ‘afraid’ reinforces the idea apprehension. Previously it states that the colored man was intimidated by the leader. ‘The shotgun was loaded. ‘ This simple sentence shows the reader that the colored man is cautious and does not want to say anything that would provoke the leader.
This helped to enable the colored man to keep silent Quote – ‘Do not go so fast,’ the man who bought up the rear of the part called to the man with the lantern. ‘It’s as dark as a kaffir’s soul here at the back. ‘ He called softly as if the darkness demanded silence. He was a big man and wore khaki trousers and laced up riding boots, and an old shooting jacket with leather patches on the right breast and the elbows. ‘ ‘The Lemon Orchard’ written by Alex Guma evokes the mood of fear and tension throughout the short story. Various language techniques are used to help evoke the mood such as similes and personification.
The author uses various similes throughout the story to communicate the relationship that the black race have with the white race. For example, ‘It’s as dark as a kaffir’s soul here at the back. ‘ This gives the reader’s impression of the white men to be very rough with their language but it can also show the reader that the men are very uncomfortable and uneasy about the situation. They have to decide whether to kill the black man or not. Personification is used to show a sense of loneliness. For example, ‘He called softly as if the darkness demanded silence. This is to enforce the uneasiness of the setting. When the darkness demands silence it shows that the environment is not safe and the darkness is watching over and protecting the black man. The dark is a silent witness. The writer has used a variety of simple adjectives such as, ‘darkness, silence, sThe author of the Lemon Orchard has shown the leader of the gang to be a very large and intimidating character. He is the dominant figure of the story. In this passage the author has used words such as ‘big’, ‘laced up’ and ‘old shooting jacket’ to show the personality of the leader’s character.
The simple adjective, big, shows that he is a very intimidating character whilst laced up and old shooting jacket tells the audience that he is uptight and frightening. The quote, ‘The shotgun was loaded’ tells us that he is a very organized person and it also shows that he has killed a colored person before. This quote can also give the reader a clue to what happens at the end of this unfinished story. It is saying that in the end the black man is murdered by the leader because it shows that he has done this before. ‘In the dark this man’s face was invisible except for a blur of shadowed hollows and lighter crags. This quote shows the audience that he is not a friendly character and he is almost emotionless about the situation. This can also say that he was brought up believing that the white race is superior to the black race. The words ‘shadowed hollows’ are describing the shape of his face. The hollows on this face are a part of his personality. The hollows are his deep emotional thoughts that he is hiding away from the rest of society. It can also show that he has a very deep personality and he only opens up to people who are very close to him.
